Hanif Hassan Al Qasim

Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute for Tolerance since June 21, 2017, in the United Arab Emirates.

He is an Emirati writer and a board member of the Al Maktoum Charity Foundation.

He is the President of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights and Global Dialogue, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Asas Investment Company, and a lecturer on Islamic thought at several cultural associations in the Emirates. He is also a weekly columnist for Al Bayan newspaper, and a guest speaker on local and regional television and radio stations since 1998.

He held the position of Minister of Education in the UAE between 2006 and 2009, and Minister of Health between 2009 and 2011. He also held various positions at the UAE University until he held the position of Vice Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1996. He worked as a visiting professor of Islamic law at Harvard University in the United States of America during 1996, and Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council between 2005 and 2006.

He contributed to the establishment of “Al Ghad Private Schools”, the restructuring of the “Ministry of Education”, and the establishment of “Zayed University” between 1998 and 2006, in addition to his contribution to the establishment of the “Federal Health Authority”, and the establishment of the “Geneva Centre for Human Rights and Global Dialogue”.

He received the “Spanish President’s Medal” for his efforts in strengthening academic and cultural relations between the two countries. He was also honored by the US Embassy in the UAE for his role in strengthening educational relations between the two countries. He also received the “UNICEF Award” for his role in supporting its health initiatives related to motherhood and children, and received the Shield of Excellence from the “World Health Organization” for his efforts in combating tobacco and smoking.

He has a book entitled “The Friend’s Masterpiece on the Innocence of a Friend,” and he was a columnist for the Emirati newspaper “Al-Ittihad.”

He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from Umm Al-Qura University in 1991 in the UAE. He also holds a BA in Islamic Studies from the UAE University.